RECITAL OF THE SCRIPT

Marillion and Fish are as iconic as the 80s decade itself. 'Recital of the Script' is a concert DVD that shows Fish in his heyday as the enigmatic frontman for neo-prog maestros Marillion. Filmed live at the Hammersmith Odeon in England in 1983, it promises to be a classic performance of the classic Marillion lineup. Fish, clad in white Jester gear, complete with all seeing eye and elongated sleeve, and that eclectic weird silver makeup, is a joy to watch and steals the show with theatrical aplomb. His dramatis personae, composure and self assuredness holds the show together, but as far as any lighting effects or colourful effects, there are very little on offer.

It seems that the show rests solely on the music and Fish's performance which is mesmirising and the audience is always with him, even singing certain words on cue. This is not that bad a thing in some way, but I was expecting at least some spectacle for such an iconic band. The music is very good and has quality sound, hailing mainly from the album 'Script for a Jester's Tear'.

There are a few surprises such as the last live performance of 'The Web' and the epic 'Grendel' raises her ugly head, though not as lengthy as the studio version. Some of the classic gems are here such as 'Garden Party', 'Chelsea Monday', and 'Market Square Heroes'.

Trewavas is excellent on bass and the guitar work throughout is exceptional. It is great to see the band live in their glory days but due to the low key approach to editing and lighting, it can be rather dull on repeated viewing, still this is the band as most fans love to remember before the intrusion of other members and the sound became less progressive.

It is interesting to note as this is an early performance and only one album was available at the time, that there are no songs from 'Misplaced Childhood' not even 'Kayleigh' which would have been welcome. But of course that is impossible but this debut album is definitely not my favourite from Marillion. This concert promoted 'Script' of course so it leaves fans like me who love other albums more such as 'Misplaced Childhood', wanting more.

The onstage antics are the only special effect, the lighting is bland, but Fish stalks the stage demolishing a plant in its pot, bayonetting and shooting audience members with a microphone stand, and wearing a medieval Grendel mask during that song. It is all about Fish, the other band members virtually disappear.

The extra features are quite good including added songs live at the Marquee where fans go nuts and we see adolescents bouncing up and down screaming 'I'm a Market Square Hero'. There is some amusing backstage footage outside the Marquee where Fish rubs his face makeup off to go out to the encore, and an interview with Fish after the show offers some incite including his feelings of playing to large audiences, "our music delves into the grey side of life, the lyrics tend to look on as an exorcism, you're explaining to people where your life has gone wrong, and everyone goes, yeah yeah yeah, we love it. Its the best confession box".

Overall, the DVD is worth a look if nothing more than to see the compelling manic performance of Fish.